The present invention relates to a telescopic gangway for boats with a simplified construction.
Landing gangways occupy an important position among nautical accessories.
They are used to allow easy passage between boats and piers.
They generally have a rectangular flat surface, wide enough to allow a person to cross and long enough to allow the boat to be moored to the pier at a safe distance.
There are numerous types of construction and materials used.
There are manual and automatic gangways, depending on whether they are positioned between the boat and pier manually or with movements obtained by hydraulic cylinders.
The choice of materials derives from technical and aesthetic considerations, respecting functional demands. Polished AISI 316 stainless steel, stainless steel painted with epoxy products, light corrosion-resistant alloys with various degrees of surface finishing, temperate crystals, teak and technological polymers, are therefore used.
To complete the gangway, vertical rods, called stanchions in nautical terminology, connected by ropes, which help and support people crossing the gangway, can also be included on at least one side of the gangway.
Furthermore there may also be a swivel joint at one end of the gangway, connected to the boat, to allow the gangway to be lifted or rotated for positioning it on the boat when sailing.
Telescopically foldable gangways, generally automatic, are particularly used, especially due to the fact that they require minimum space on the boat.
These gangways are formed by subdividing the total walking length into two or more pre-established length portions. These portions are so formed that one or more of them can be inserted into another portion or into other nearby portions.
In this way, in the case of a telescopic gangway with two portions, the possibility of overlaping the two elements considerably reduces the amount of space during sailing.
In some cases, they are completely foldable which means that, when telescopically inserted, they can be fitted into appropriate housings built into the boats.
The known construction technique is to include, on each portion of the gangway, on each side, a tubular element which can be telescopically inserted into that of the adjacent portion.
Furthermore, these elements also have a supporting function as they sustain a central footboard which can be crossed by a person.
This system, however, makes the telescopic gangway rather heavy and this creates various disadvantages.
For example, as the gangway is generally carried by the boat during sailing, its weight is added to the total weight of the boat.
In addition, as the moving of the gangway requires the use of cylinders whose size depends on its weight, these cylinders will have characteristics and costs of a certain significance.
An objective of the present invention is therefore to overcome the above drawbacks and in particular to produce a telescopic gangway for boats with a simplified construction and limited weight.
Another objective of the present invention is to produce a telescopic gangway for boats, having an essentially light structure and an opening mechanism which is easy to use.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to create a telescopic gangway for boats with a simplified construction, which is particularly reliable, simple, functional and at relatively low costs.
These and other objectives according to the present invention are achieved by the production of a telescopic gangway for boats with a simplified construction as described in claim 1.
Further characteristics are illustrated in the subsequent claims.
The characteristics and advantages of a telescopic gangway for boats with a simplified construction, according to the present invention, can be clearly understood from the following illustrative and non-limiting description.